Of Cakes and Music
by JadedLights07
Summary: It's the year 1976 and the students of Hogwarts want a Ball. They might have creative ideas with good intentions, but a school event that big comes with a hefty pricetag. James is worried, Lily is unstable, Sirius is angry and Marlene just wants the pain to end. With gold to raise and music to dance to, perhaps they might make it out unscathed afterall. FOUR-SHOT Blackinnon. Jily.
1. To Take a Chance on Love

**Disclaimer: No I am not insanely rich, with adoring fans nor do I live in Britain. I am merely an insomniac 17 year old who is trying out writing. Hence, I am not the wonderful J.K. Rowling.**

"Alright everyone, we need to raise 100 galleons by the end of this month if we want that Arabian Night themed Christmas Ball," James told the prefects with the same tone he used with his Quidditch team. "That gives us 27 days, so we need to get baking. For starters, we need to make sure the house elves don't make anything too nice for everyone, that way they'll all be craving something sweet. I can take care of that" He said with a glint in his eye. "And no Gordon, we can't just ask the house elves to make the food so we can sell it – I already asked Dumbledore." There was a collective laugh from the group.

After finishing up all the details of the prefect meeting James left the room in search of Lily who had to miss the meeting due to an urgent call home. She should be back soon, he thought. As James made his way around the corner he smirked, spotting Sirius arm-in-arm with a short black-haired girl with too much make up and too little clothing. By the look on Sirius' face he was getting increasingly tired of having to smile and agree with everything she was saying at top speed.

"Jamie boy!" Sirius said loudly, cutting off the girl's rant on the latest fashion. "I heard you wanted to discuss important news with me … Sorry – ah Megan was it? I'd better get going, it was nice meeting up" He finished with a large smile.

James' smirk widened as they continued walking, leaving the dejected looking girl behind. "What's wrong Padfoot? I thought getting girls to shut up was your speciality. Going rough around the edges are we?" He mocked. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I honestly tried everything, but as soon as we were done snogging she acted like we were going out or something" He said, exasperated. "Oh don't look at me like that Prongs, the birds should know by now that I don't do dating"

Shaking his head amusedly, James asked Sirius if he knew where Lily was.

"I don't know mate, although I did hear Mars and Meadows talking about her back in the common room – something about Evans having to stay longer at her place. They sounded upset." He replied.

"What?!" James yelped. "And you didn't think to mention this earlier? For all we know something terrible could've happened to Lily. When did you see them?"

"Woah woah Prongs, calm down. Lily can take care of herself. Check the map; they should still be in the common room." Sirius said slowly. If there was one thing certain, it was James' over protectiveness for Lily.

Making their way through the portrait hole, James saw Marlene and Dorcas by the fire, a pile of homework and library books between them. They looked up as the boys approached, who could tell that Dorcas had been crying. When he saw that Marlene was probably on the verge, James panicked. Marlene never cried.

"What happened to Lily?" He demanded loudly. Marley spoke up first, her voice only giving away a hint of helpless ness.

"We just got a letter from her. Her parents passed away James."

There was a stunned silence from both James and Sirius. Dorcas sniffed quietly.

"Wh – What?" Sirius asked. He couldn't think of a more horrific thing to happen to Lily, who was probably the kindest person he knew. Without warning, James strode up to the boys dormitories and came down with a lumpy bundle tucked in his arm.

"I'll be back in two weeks. Padfoot, tell Moony and Wormtail I'll see them soon." He quickly said, before kissing Marlene on her forehead, giving a comforting hug to Dorcas and slapping Sirius on the back. He was out the portrait hole before any of them could digest what had just happened.

Sirius blinked stupidly before resigning with a sigh. He sat down on the couch between the two girls and kicked his legs up on the table.

"Get your filthy shoes off the table Black," Marlene bit out, perhaps harsher than she'd intended. "We're trying to work." But by the amount of ink on her parchment, they hadn't got any done. Sirius ignored her and closed his eyes, trying to steady himself from the anger that was slowly building up. He wasn't going to take it out on his friends, who were barely holding it together. The Evans were the sweetest family albeit Petunia. Every year on September 1st without fail, Mrs Evans would bake a large plate of her famous brownies and the girls would all come early to share them, all the while complimenting Mrs Evans on out doing herself once again and joking around with Mr Evans. Sirius didn't know Lily's parents as well as her friends, but that didn't matter. Lily clearly loved them and the thought of her shaking body and whimpering screams sent a shiver as cold as ice through him.

A few moments of silence passed before the portrait hole opened once more and Remus and Peter strolled in laughing about something, their arms filled with cakes, tarts, pies, sweets and biscuits.

"Hey guys!" Peter greeted them jovially "We thought we should stock up on food because apparently James is going to convince the house elves to –". He abruptly stopped talking as he felt Remus's pointy elbow jab his ribs. Wincing, Peter realised that the small group in front of him looked as if they'd never be cheerful again.

"Evans' parents died," Sirius said sounding almost bored, not bothering to sugar coat anything. This, Remus thought, was worse that screaming or crying. Sirius was bottling up his emotions and it would only end disastrously. Remus had had his fair share of experiences with death. His father had passed in his third year and his grandparents in the year before starting Hogwarts. Peter on the other hand, was looking baffled – as though death should be kept in the prophets or in novels. He couldn't quite comprehend the severity or the cruelty, having only his mother and cousins as family. His mother never married nor mentioned any father, and so Peter had lived his life with no sudden terrible news or fatalities.

"We need a distraction," He muttered, looking down. When no one responded, he took it as encouragement, "Lily will come back when she feels ready, and moping around won't be helping anyone. Moony was telling me about the Christmas Ball, and I think we should help Prongs and the prefects raise the gold." Peter's voice was growing more confident with each word. Remus and Dorcas were both looking at him as though he had turned into James himself, and Peter felt the warmth in his cheeks. This was one of the few times where he might have had a good idea. Marlene and Sirius however, continued to stare at the ground.

There was an awkward pause before Marlene spoke. "James left for Lily just before. He won't be back for a fortnight." Her voice sounded so dejected, Peter thought.

"All the more reason to help out," Remus said quietly. Peter let out a breath of relief. Remus could handle them now.

Sirius eyes suddenly flashed. "Moony, I honestly couldn't give a fuck about the stupid Ball right now." He crossed his arms and glared at Peter. Peter felt himself go red and shrank back, but Remus had placed his hand on Peter's shoulder bracingly.

"Sirius don't you realise, this is the perfect time for a ball. Lily doesn't know anything about it, because it was decided only two days ago. What better way to cheer Lily up if not throw a dance to get the school buzzing again? Everyone is going to hear about Lily sooner or later and we all know how it will make her feel to come to a school full of sympathy stares and whispers of false condolences from people who couldn't give a rats fart!" Remus finished with a huff. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marlene giving him a small nod.

"I agree," she said with a small smile to Peter. "Anyways, Lily loves dancing, and this would be able to get her mind of things for a bit." She turned towards Sirius now, who had gone back to burning holes in the carpet. "Sirius we need your help too." She said softly.

It seemed as though when Marlene said his name, Sirius' surprise caused him to look up at her, his hostile expression fading into one of indifference. Slowly he nodded and muttered "Okay".

Feeling a little more light hearted, the group reached in to the table where the food now lay, and began eating; laughing when the cream dripped down Peter's chin and Dorcas' guttural moan as she bit into chocolate éclairs. She giggled softly as a blush rose up her cheeks. Remus grinned and handed her another. After some silly banter and a much smaller pile of food, the five students decided to head to bed early; they had some planning to do the next day.

To everyone's surprise early next morning, Sirius bounded down the stairs to the common room with his usual smirk and twinkling eyes.

"Right, I'm going to go convince the house elves to hold back on the sugar. Moony old chap, I need you to tell the other prefects about Prongs. Mars and Meadows, some advertisements please? We need them around the castle. Ask Moony about prices and stuff, because I for one, don't know shit about that. Wormy, you're coming with me." Sirius had decided to take charge over this, as it was currently the only thing keeping him from punching somebody. Marlene had one eyebrow raised, and Sirius waited for her to correct him on the nickname she claimed she hated – but before she could, Dorcas pulled her away with an "Aye, aye Captain!"

Remus smirked slightly, muttered "Looks like our Marley convinced you pretty well, then" before sauntering away. Sirius started to wonder what Remus meant by that, but quickly remembered his own job. Dragging a slightly anxious Peter with him, Sirius walked with determination. He didn't know why, but Peter certainly had a way with house elves. Sirius knew how friendly the elves were, but couldn't help but be a little wary from his experience with Kreacher.

Convincing the house elves to stop making the food that the Hogwarts residents loved was harder than expected, but after assuring them that it was for a cause they agreed, on the condition that the kitchen would at least provide them with the ingredients – to which Peter and Sirius graciously accepted.

They came back into the common room to find Dorcas, Remus and Marlene sitting in a quiet corner with pastel colour papers surrounding them.

Dorcas looked up when she saw them approach. To answer her questioning look, Sirius nodded "All good." Dorcas smiled and handed him one of the posters. It was a pastel green colour and had a large picture of a pumpkin pasty. Underneath, it said in big bold writing '**Got a sweet craving? Or maybe a secret guilty pleasure that involves whipped cream? Come down to the entrance hall after dinner for cakes, biscuits, tarts and pies! Look out for the fittest group in the school (the 7th year Gryffindors of course) for your own at only 10 sickles each every day**'

Sirius grinned down at the others. "Who wrote the whipped cream part?" He asked with a laugh. He got his answer when Marlene returned the laugh and winked, with a sparkle in her dark blue eyes. He looked around the floor again and saw at least 50 of the posters; all different colours, with a different desert on each. He nodded, impressed before pulling out his wand and flicking it while thinking of a spell. The posters winked up at him, now glittering faintly. Peter grinned at him appreciatively from his spot on the armchair as the foods now looked even more real.

"Are they done?" He asked. After Remus confirmed with a nod, Sirius waved his wand again, and watched as most of the posters disappeared with a pop. Two remained however; one flew up to the notice board and pinned itself up while the other hung itself up between the doors of the dormitory walls.

"Where did you send them?" Dorcas asked curiously.

"Two in each common room and staffroom. Seven in the great hall, three in the entrance hall, fifteen along the rails of all the staircases and fifteen in corridors. I've charmed them to stay till we decide to take them down" Sirius answered briskly, proud of himself. After all, he and James _were_ the brightest students in the school. Dorcas gaped, and Remus rolled his eyes as if to say 'show off'. Sirius puffed his chest out and bowed deeply, eliciting a small giggle from Marlene. Se quietened down as soon as it had escaped but Sirius noted its presence smugly before it did.

Sirius was walking down to the kitchen feeling rather peckish. There was a roster of prefects who were making the cakes and pastries, plus Dorcas, Marlene and himself of course. It had been a week since the deserts had gone on sale, but at the rate they were going, it would take another month to raise the gold. They needed a little extra; something to really get the sales going. Sirius hummed quietly to himself thinking. His hand flicked to his pocket, where he had his pot. Smoking always did clear his head. Deciding that it wasn't worth getting confiscated, he left his hand in his pocket, still fingering the fancy box that held it.

Arriving at the portrait of the bowl of fruit, Sirius reached out and tickled the pear. The portrait swung open, revealing the large interior. The tables were at their usual places and the house elves were bustling around, probably preparing dinner. Walking in, Sirius was about to greet his favourite elf (Knobby) when he heard someone curse.

Smirking at the familiar voice he turned around. Marlene McKinnon had her back turned to him and was inspecting a large bowl. In one hand she had a large stained book and the other, which was making small movements, held her wand. Sirius hadn't bothered to figure out who was baking when, but evidently, Marlene had the Saturday evening block.

"Well well, are my eyes deceiving me or are you actually trying to cook?" Marlene snapped her head around when she heard him speak, and scowled even deeper at his sight.

"It's actually baking, Black. And you wouldn't know anyway, I doubt you've ever tried anything that doesn't involve alcohol or pranking."

"You wound me dearest Mars," Sirius said with an air of anguish, clutching his heart.

"Bite me," Marlene snapped, turning back to her book.

Dropping the façade, Sirius crept up from behind her and nipped her neck, his teeth pinching the smooth skin – and making sure to wrap his arms around hers to pin them to her sides. Marlene dropped her book and yelped. She might have castrated him if her arms were loose.

"SIRIUS! What are you doing? And don't answer that!" Marlene sure had a loud voice, Sirius was pleased to note. A smile crept up to his face as he imagined her screaming his name out loud in a very different situation. "Trust you to take something like that literally" She scoffed – most likely to herself. Suddenly she froze, having just realised that Sirius' arms were still around her. Her heart started beating faster, and the pulse point on her neck where he had bitten was throbbing, as if the vessel was threatening to burst open. Marlene's breaths grew raspy, and she felt his by her ear.

And then just as he'd grabbed her, Sirius let go. Marlene let out a shaky breath before composing her expression to one of annoyance. She was NOT about to let him see her feelings – feelings which were buried deep but had been creeping back up, unbeknownst to her. With a small sigh, Marlene bent down to pick up her book. Before she could however, Sirius had already brought it back up.

Settling down on the table, he propped open the book, frowned as if trying to decipher a complicated rune and closed it again. Marlene snickered.

"Have I just witnessed Sirius Black trying to read for the first time?"

"Shut it, you," He said immaturely. Throwing the book aside ("Hey – I was using that!") he rubbed his hands together with an excited expression. "So what are we cooking?" he asked.

"Baking," Marlene corrected him automatically. "I'm baking brownies, but I can't seem to get the batter right" She finished with a frustrated sigh. As if a switch flicked, her expression brightened "Oh I know! I'll write to Mrs Evans, she'll –". And as if that same switch was flicked again, Marlene's grin faded into a small cry. Her eyes widened and her hands began shaking. Without giving it much thought, Sirius leapt forward and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. In fact his grip was so strong that Marlene started laughing and choking simultaneously. He let go and placed both hands on her shoulder, steadying her small frame.

"Sorry," Sirius chuckled softly. He leaned back up against the table. Marlene nodded, and smiled faintly.

"She was a really happy woman, Mrs Evans; always mothering us, stuffing us with those god damn brownies. So was Mr Evans – happy I mean. They were happy. I spent most of my summers at Lily's place. Mine's always a little too full, you know." Marlene wasn't crying. But by the tone she was using, she might have just had five hours' worth of wailing and had finally calmed down. Sirius didn't say anything. He just watched her face. Her waist length blonde hair was tied back loosely, and strands of it were falling in her face, some dusted with sugar. She had a sort of tan complexion. Not enough to make it seem like she played a great deal of outdoor sport, but enough to give her a sunny glow. Her cheeks had lost all the rosy colour it held only last week and her lips were chapping. At first glance, Marlene didn't look like she was grieving. Hell, she seemed almost happy. But she wasn't, Sirius realised. She'd been hiding her emotions and fooling everyone else.

Marlene quickly shook herself and put both hands on her hip, tilting her head and tapping her foot. She brought one of her hands up to her chin and leaned forward into the bowl, eyebrows furrowed. Sirius shoved both his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do. His hands found the small stash of pot, and a slow smile was brought to his face. He pulled his hand out, this time with a little fancy box. He walked closer to Marlene and nudged her with his foot subtly. Marlene glanced up at him, her questioning expression turning wary at the look of his mischievous one.

Checking to make sure the elves were still busy with their own jobs, Sirius popped open the lid, revealing its contents. Marlene gasped, a smirk developing on her small lips. She looked up at him, this time with a wide grin.

"_No_" she whispered, her royal blue eyes matching his ash grey ones.

"Oh yes" Sirius said. "These will get everyone to keep on buying those brownies, no matter how awful they might taste." He got a light push on the chest for the jab at her baking skills, but otherwise, Marlene just raised her eyebrows.

"Please tell me you aren't planning on getting the whole school high on marijuana? Not saying that the sight won't be entertaining, but it's kind of illegal."

"Shhhh, not so loud Mars," Sirius said, glancing casually around to make sure they weren't heard. "And 'course not; just enough to give a slight buzz. You know as well as I do how addicting that feeling is" he winked. Marlene rolled her eyes and dipped two fingers into the box. She added a decently heaped pinch of the spliff into the large bowl, and began humming a tune that Sirius recognised from the popular wizarding band, the Confundus Calibrations. He swiftly closed the lid and stuffed the box back into his pocket. Marlene quickly stirred in the new ingredient, now with an innocent smile of her face. Only her eyes could tell the truth. Waving her wand one last time, the batter poured itself into a big tin and flew into the large oven.

With a satisfied sigh Marlene briskly dusted her hands and joined Sirius, who had been watching her the whole time. "This would technically be your fault if we get caught, you know." He noted. Marlene raised her eyebrows in obvious disbelief. "These were made in your time slot, so it would be traced back to the baker and as far as anyone's concerned you were down here all by your guilty self." He continued. Sirius was trying to hold back the laughter as Marlene's face became redder by the second.

"What – no, Black– the house elves – " She spluttered but Sirius cut her off casually.

"Yes, the house elves love me. I'm a regular visitor, you see"

Marlene gaped and her face started going a deep purple. Sirius' lips began twitching and before he could stop himself, burst out laughing. "Ah Mars, you insult my honour. Would you really think I'd blame it all on you and miss the opportunity to up Prongs in detention numbers? I'm devastated to find out you think so little of me," He said, wiping away an imaginary tear of mirth.

Marlene's gape of panic turned into one of embarrassment and she shut her mouth quickly. Reaching behind her, she rearranged her facial expression into a sultry smile. Moving closer to the still laughing Sirius she placed her free hand on his arm, causing him to look up and suddenly stop howling. His eyes widened as she leaned into his ear and whispered "Oh Black, I really am sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. Of course, you belong in Gryffindor – and practically reek of honour and loyalty. How silly of me! How will I ever make it up to you, hmm?"

He blinked a few times, still registering the implication of her words. Only missing a beat, Sirius smirked and turned his face slightly bringing his voice down to a whisper.

"Surprise me"

He saw Marlene cock an eyebrow teasingly – the next thing he saw was her shoulder moving until – _splat. _Wincing, Sirius's smirk turned into a grimace as Marlene lost her sly composure and bent over, laughing. Reaching up to his head which now felt slightly bruised, his fingers made contact with something wet and smooth; egg. Shaking the muck off his head violently, Sirius made a grab onto the nearest item of food, seeking revenge. Feeling something in his hand, he wasted no time in pivoting it towards Marlene. Landing right on target, she now looked as if she had aged 80 years. Marlene's laughing stopped abruptly. Shocked at first, she soon replaced her expression with a wide grin.

"You asked for it Black, this is war!" Marlene briskly took two steps, until she was about a foot away from Sirius. Leaning her head forward so she was looking directly at his feet, she mussed up her now white hair, causing the flour to migrate to his black 'Sex Pistols' t-shirt.

"Hey!" Sirius laughed, before bending over Marlene and wrapping his arms around her waist. With ease he picked her up, so her legs were in the air and her head near his knee.

"Put me down, Sirius!" She yelped, slapping his calf muscle hard. This only caused him to jump back in pain, his left foot getting caught in a large container of pumpkins nearby. With a great clang, the teenagers came crashing down, screaming and laughing simultaneously. Sirius landed square on Marlene, but she didn't seem to mind. Still laughing, Marlene seemed to be oblivious to the noise they had just made.

She also seemed to be oblivious to the look that Sirius was giving her. It was a thoughtful one. He looked curiously at her red face, seen under the light coat of white. Her mouth was open wide, eyes shut tightly and a small tear of mirth was escaping her right eye. She turned her head slightly, opening her eyes as she calmed down. Her pink lips formed an 'O' of shock but the happiness didn't leave her eyes. Turning around to follow her sight, Sirius spotted three small elves running to them, angry looks on their faces.

Scrambling to their feet as quickly as possible, Marlene and Sirius stumbled out apologies that didn't sound very sincere – probably because both were sporting Cheshire grins.

"Out!" screamed an elderly elf. "Miss and Master, Hokke is sorry but the house elves have lots of work to be getting on with, and Hokke cannot let youse make such a racket!" Hokke continued sternly. His accomplices helped him usher the two out the portrait, allowing Marlene to shout out a quick request for a house elf to remove the brownies in 30 minutes. After hearing a faint "Certainly Miss!" from Knobby, the portrait shut tightly.

There was a quiet moment between the two as they caught their breaths, until their eyes met and they dissolved into laughter once more.

"This war isn't over Black. You wait, I'll get you back!" Marlene weakly tried to threaten, leaning on the wall behind her. She tilted her head back and emitted a quiet laugh. After not receiving a response from Sirius, she looked back down, to find him coming closer. He was a mere two inches away from her when he leaned in with a smile. If Marlene wasn't paralysed with both excitement and fear, she might have noticed that this was one of the rare occasions where Sirius' smile was genuine. The corners of his lips were lifted as naturally as if he was unaware. The corners of his eyes crinkled and for moment his pupils seemed to dilate. But before she could be sure, the orbs of grey were covered and she felt his eyelashes caress her cheek.

His lips were softer than she might have imagined – gentler. But that might have been his way of asking permission, because when she quickly granted it by enveloping his bottom lip with both of hers, they felt a lot stronger. His body pressed up against hers, and she let a small moan escape as she brought her arms up to rest them on his shoulders. Sirius' hands found her hip bones and lightly kept one there, slowly bringing the other up to her small waist. Sliding it to the small of her back, he pulled Marlene even closer, all the while kissing her as though he'd been waiting to do so for a millennium.

They didn't know how long they were there; licking, sucking, pecking and biting. Sirius felt his head throb as his heart worked double time. He could feel Marlene's fingers laced through his hair as he let his teeth graze over the same spot he'd playfully bitten not two hours ago. Feeling the patch of skin quiver in slight pain, Sirius let his tongue trace a circle before sucking hard. That was going to leave a mark, he smirked with satisfaction.

Her small frame was trembling in anticipation when Sirius inched his hand up her skirt. He traced patterns on her inner thigh as his lips followed the path of her collar bone. She pulled his face back up and began kissing his jaw, her hands clutching onto the neck on his shirt, encouraged by the stiffness that was rubbing against her stomach.

"I can't bloody wait till you get me back, McKinnon." Sirius said huskily, licking his lips. Marlene could feel his breath in her ear as she giggled quietly and allowed him to pull on her ear. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, before both heard the unmistakable sound of heels clicking against the stone floor, down at the end corridor. With a quiet gasp Marlene snapped her head around to the direction of the noise.

"Fuck," Sirius angrily swore before grabbing her hand and taking them both down the opposite way, as fast as possible away from the clicking which was now at a higher frequency. Finding a spot on the wall nearby Sirius brought out his wand out and tapped it twice. A small alcove opened up with enough space for the two to cram in. Just as the wall closed back around them, Marlene caught a glimpse of a disbelieved, make-up filled face, before groaning internally and dropping her head on her companion's shoulder in defeat. There was a small window in the alcove that let a small amount of moonlight through. It was then Marlene and Sirius realised how late it must be. Marlene couldn't help the blush rise at the thought of how long they'd been making out, and turned her face away from the light. She noticed that Sirius' hand was still clamped tightly over her own, and the other was at her head, tucking a stray strand of blonde-white hair behind her ear. She glanced up at his eyes and found them to be curious once more. His thumb traced along her jawline, pausing at a small freckle. His eyes flicked back up to her eyes, his own face still unsmiling.

"Do you know who that was?" He asked quietly. Marlene nodded her head.

"Rita Skeeter"

"Well fuck. The whole school is going to find out." Sirius definitely looked angry now.

"What, ashamed to be seen with me Black? Well I'll have you know that it's just as embarrassing for – " He swiftly cut her off with a look. Marlene rolled her eyes. When was she becoming the immature one? Luckily, Sirius decided to ignore the defensiveness she'd sent from her own insecurities and instead spoke quietly, eyes staring at the crescent moon.

"Mars, I don't know what to do right now, but if there's one thing that I know for sure is that you deserve so much more than a player." He sighed in defeat.

"You're right. I do deserve more." Marlene said surely. "But correct me if I'm wrong Sirius – I'm more to you than some cheap girl to fuck with. I'm your friend, no matter how much we bicker; you wouldn't be doing this with a friend – unless there's something James isn't telling me" Sirius let out a weak chuckle but let her continue. "I personally couldn't care less how many girls can brag about how good you are in bed. I know I'm better than all of them, and you do too." She finished with a grim smile. Sirius had to admire the confidence she radiated. She positively glowed with it. And perhaps that was why it was so easy for him to fall for her, he realised. He'd been attracted to Marlene since third year, but it taken him another four years to see the woman she'd grown into. He locked eyes with her again, ash grey with royal blue.

"Okay." Was all he said. Marlene smiled and leaned her head on his chest as they slid down the wall. The thing Marlene loved about Sirius was that he challenged her. She loved him as a friend, but lately she'd begun to fall in love with him. He wasn't her prince charming, and she sure as hell didn't need one. She needed a companion. Someone who wouldn't take away all her pain and obstacles, but would tell her that she could handle it – believe that she was capable of taking on the world with her own two hands because that was just the kind of woman she was. She needed to be loved without the attached feeling of ownership. She didn't know it yet, but Sirius ticked all the boxes and more.

He was still holding her hand, and it felt good. It felt right. Not constricting, but comfortable. They stayed there way past curfew, and sometime after midnight, Marlene kissed the corner of Sirius's mouth and suggested they shower and go to bed.

"Want to join me?" Sirius asked teasingly.

"The shower or the bed?" Marlene asked innocently before flouncing away with a quiet laugh. Sirius grinned. This was why they would work, he thought. She could take a god damn joke. She could play the good girl, but come out as the cunning vixen within 3 seconds. She was brilliant, and beautiful and imperfect; which ironically made her perfect for Sirius.


	2. Kill or be Killed

James sped through the seventh floor corridor and practically leapt down three flights of stairs in his effort to get to Professor Dumbledore's office as soon as possible. If James was worried before, it was nothing to how he felt now. Lily was known for providing support and comfort to her friends, and also often to people she barely knew – simply because that was how kind she was. But James knew that this often meant she rarely received the same treatment. It was evident that though they loved her immensely Marlene and especially Dorcas would be happy to make Lily feel better, but even they often assumed that Lily was always strong, always okay.

And James couldn't blame them either, because Lily let her guard down so rarely that the only way James knew about it was because of his tendency to follow her around in his invisibility cloak when she was alone. He didn't dare tell anyone about it though, it sounded creepy enough in his own head. But really, he was just looking out for her. Lily was one of the mere eight muggle-borns in the castle and with one quarter of the school Slytherins, she was in danger all the time.

It was in the moments alone where Lily would let herself fall apart. To cry, pull her hair and kick the walls. And James would linger a few meters away, shaking in anger – at whatever the cause for Lily's anguish was and also the fact that he was unable to comfort her.

And now, to think of Lily by herself at home grieving the loss of her parents with only a snobby sister to blame her – well it only made James run faster. Finally reaching the gargoyle, he hurriedly spoke the password ("Jelly Slugs") and briskly opened the door without waiting for the Professor to beckon him inside.

"Professor, I'm afraid I've got to go to Lily. We just received a letter from her – "James began quickly, looking for the occupant. He stopped talking when he realised that no one was inside.

"Professor? PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE?" James yelled, now very frustrated. He didn't have time for this.

"Quieten down young man! Aren't you supposed to be Head Boy?" Many of the portraits hung around in the circular room had now woken up and were muttering angrily.

"Entering the Headmaster's office without permission, causing a scene and about to leave school grounds. I told Albus that this boy would be bad candidate – spending too much time causing havoc with my idiotic nephew. But would he listen? Of course not," scoffed a particularly nasty looking portrait.

"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" James demanded, ignoring the rude man.

"That is none of your business Mr Potter" The same portrait answered him once more, which only resulted in James' irritation increasing. "Your Headmaster has very important work to do, and I'm sure he would not care to listen to your tedious demands" He remarked disdainfully. The other portraits nodded, with disapproving expressions.

Deeming the portraits completely unhelpful, James looked around the Professor's office, trying to find a way to leave the school. His eyes caught the welcoming fireplace behind the desk. Could he Floo out of the castle? James couldn't see how, or else that group that called themselves 'Death Eaters' would easily break into Hogwarts. Then again, knowing Dumbledore, he'd have found a loophole. As though confirming James' assessment of his headmaster, he found a small pot on the desk, containing red powder. For anybody who didn't know the headmaster as well as James did, might have ignored it, assuming it to be some form of powerful and dangerous artefact. James however, smirked briefly: this had to be a special kind of Floo Powder; perhaps one that only allowed those that were trusted to exit the office.

Taking a small pinch, James threw it into the flames. He hesitated for a brief moment as the fire turned red instead of the usual green, but the thought of Lily's distress gave him the courage to speak with confidence ("The Three Broomsticks") and step into the flames. To his immense relief, James' leg simply felt a pleasant warm sensation.

"Excuse me! You're Head Boy! You can't just leave the school. You have responsibilities!" One of the old witches shrieked unpleasantly. But James didn't bother responding. "No Head Girl, no Headmaster, and now no Head Boy," She muttered, shaking her head. No headmaster? Did that really mean that Dumbledore had left the castle? James had assumed that the old man was somewhere in the castle, perhaps enjoying a cup of tea with Hagrid. He had supposed that the portraits were simply chastising him for being impolite, but apparently not.

James didn't have much time to ponder this revelation, because he soon felt his body turning wildly. He was lucky that he hadn't had much to eat, or the food would have been swirling around in his stomach. Making sure to tuck his arms in and shut his eyes, James travelled along the Floo channel. Just as he thought his head might explode, he fell out with a loud thud. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, James stood up. He felt the cinders coat his entire form, including his glasses (which he fixed and cleaned with a simple spell) and so quickly brushed off the residue.

As he walked past the tables towards the door, he saw the barmaid cleaning up the counter. She looked up as he walked past and nodded, as though he was expected.

"I'm assuming you're heading for Miss Evans, Potter?" she asked.

"Hullo Rose, sorry I don't have an expl – hang on, what you know about Lily? Is she okay?" James asked urgently.

"Didn't you hear about Miss Evans awful predicament? I'm sorry to tell you this, but her parents have been killed," Madam Rosmerta spoke solemnly.

"Killed?" James asked with confusion. "They were very ill the last time I saw them, I thought Mr and Mrs Evans had passed because of it,"

"Oh no, I'm afraid it's far more sinister than that. Professor Dumbledore came through just a couple of hours ago in a mad rush. He'd said – from what I could decipher, that Miss Evans' parents were actually on the mend," James gaped, and Madam Rosmerta nodded sadly.

"Who would do something like that?" James roared furiously.

"I heard the Minister talking just earlier with Professor Dumbledore – apparently the Aurors found remnants of magic at the scene, which leads me to believe – "

"Death Eaters," James whispered, what colour he had in his face now completely drained out. Madam Rosmerta nodded again, and went back to wiping the counter. James thanked her swiftly and reached the door as quickly as possible, which was difficult considering the customers who were huddled inside from the cold.

The wind rushed and the grey clouds loomed over James as he found a quiet place where he could apparate undetected. Having learned to apparate in their sixth year and the plenty of practice that he and Sirius had, James easily thought of the town where Lily lived, Cokeworth whilst pulling his invisibility cloak on. With a sound _crack_ James disappeared. The uncomfortable feeling of apparation still lingered, but he was far too preoccupied to be deterred.

A sidewalk appeared beneath his feet, and James instantly recognised the streets. He'd been here to visit Lily every summer for the past three years. He and Sirius would make an outing of it, visiting Lily. She'd always scream at them, and demand they leave, but somehow on every occasion, Mrs Evans would find the boys and invite them in for lemon cakes and tea. They would spend hours chatting with Mrs Evans, James occasionally glancing at Lily who would be growing redder each second. Mr Evans was less friendly, but that might have been influenced by Sirius' leather jacket and tattoo (though minimal, the skull was very visible on his middle finger). They'd run into Marlene and Dorcas the first time they'd shown up early one morning. James could still remember Marley's face when she saw Sirius – he'd been suspecting that she was harbouring a crush for his best mate. She'd gone bright red, and yet managed to retain her dignity and pride as Sirius noted her bright blue cupcake pyjamas. Dorcas had simply laughed along with Sirius, but had soon stopped when she realised that she herself was wearing green monster shorts with a singlet. And then when James saw Lily, he had almost mistaken her head for a tomato. If he could read her mind, James might have heard Lily thanking any and all gods that she'd decided to get dressed before breakfast. James probably should have thanked his own lucky stars that Lily had received a prefects badge that morning; hence her incredibly good mood (that became slightly worse off) stopped her from hexing both of them out of the house. All, well seeing as Lily had already received a warning from the Ministry for previous misconducts.

The streets had looked a lot more pleasant when they'd come to visit – but that was because of the sun shining bright and the children running around. Today it was dark and not a soul could be seen in the cold weather. Curtains were closed and the wind howled like a dying banshee. With a resigned sigh, James lightly jogged past two streets until he arrived at Lily's. He spotted Lily's house straight away. It was two stories high, with vines growing on the white walls. There was a balcony at the front, the rails completely covered in plants. The front garden sported a bird bath, and even in the cold weather there were trees filled with flowers (*). All in all, the exterior of the house still retained the magic and homely security it always held. The fairy tale scene of the house easily deceived any passing neighbours of the trauma and loss of its inhabitants.

Just as James walked past a neighbour's house, he saw what looked like a shadow. It was odd, there was no body, just a black shape that flashed for a second as though moving at top speed. But when the door to Lily's house slowly opened, James panicked. He was sure that if the intruder was friendly, they wouldn't have tried to be so discreet. Then again, James thought, he himself _was _concealed well. He looked up at the window by the balcony, footsteps increasing in speed, and was startled when he saw a flash of auburn-red hair. _Lily_.

Now running as fast as he could, still making sure to stay well hidden, James made his up to the door and slipped inside. The interior also looked the same, if not tidier than usual. James assumed that either Lily or her sister had cleaned up when they arrived. The inside was cold, hardly any warmer than out. Running to the stairs, James heard Lily scream. It took him all his strength to not shout her name just then. If there really were Death Eaters in Lily house, they wouldn't dream of coming alone. Even if they were only targeting a Muggle-born, they were too cowardly to come in a group of less than three.

Climbing the stairs 3 at a time, James reached the top within seconds. His Quidditch training had done well for his physique as all the running had had barely any adverse effects on his strength. Walking as quietly as possible while still retaining speed, James saw one of the death eaters standing guard at her door. With a grimace, James whipped out his wand and silently stunned the masked man. He added a quick _silencio_ on the body, and it landed without a sound. James' clear advantage was the element of surprise and he was glad it was still in place.

Inching closer, he heard the Death Eaters growling, and Lily's weak protests. It had seemed that in the short time it had taken for James to arrive at Lily's door, the foul men had managed to silence and _crucio_ Lily. One of the Death eaters laughed cruelly, and as James opened the door cautiously he saw the other use his wand as a knife to carve a message on her right arm. Both had their backs to him. Lily might have seen the movement if she wasn't desperately trying to kick her way out of the man's tight grasp.

Watching Lily so weak and hurt made James see red. He started to shake violently and without wasting a single second, he brought his wand up and stood in an offensive stance, cleanly cutting through the Death Eater that was hurting Lily, at the neck. It was so clean that the only response that could be observed in that second was his sudden relaxed grip on Lily's arm, before it completely fell limp. His companion's sneer faltered for a moment, as he looked up in confusion. If James could see his face, he would have seen utter panic as blood started seeping from the other Death Eater's neck in a steady stream. James watched in sick satisfaction as the man fell to ground, head clearly separated from body. _"James, the first rule to an honourable man is to never attack whilst your opponent's back is turned"_ The words of his father rang loud and clear in mind, but James paid it no compliance and instead widened his sneer. _That may be so father, but waiting for an evil man to even the playing field is simply foolish._ Lily's terrified and piercing scream cut through his reminiscence as she watched the dead man's neck – blood was spurting from his neck now as his arteries continued to pump it in vain.

Flicking his eyes away from Lily, he found the Death Eater still alive looking around in alarm, trying to find the one responsible for such a gruesome death. James was ready for him though, murder gleaming bright in his eyes. As though he were a predator, James almost sensed the sheer amount of dread in his prey. He could almost hear the erratic thumping of the Death Eater's heart as his panic drove him to paralysis. James knew that the adrenaline would soon take effect though, and swiftly threw off his invisibility cloak. With a quick flick of his wand, James easily disarmed the terrified man and caught the offending object in his left hand. His right gripped his own wand tightly as it now was aimed at the man's heart. He cocked his head slightly, wondering what spell would do him justice to the cruciatus curse he was certain the Death Eater had performed on Lily. James had often heard that it felt as though every bone, every particle was up in flames.

Wiping the smirk off his face, James furrowed his brows in concentration and deep willingness. He wouldn't _crucio_ the man. Oh no, it would be worse. Making sure to have a very clear image in his mind, James whispered "_Incendio"_. Immediately the man burst into flames. But there wasn't just one flame – there were hundreds, each hell bent on a single part of the man's body. The man's piercing screams grew louder and James' lips curled. With one last flick, James made the flames suddenly stop – but the damage was done. All that was left was to do was watch as the man burnt away from the inside – every organ turn into ashes, as his brain fried, and heart burst open.

"James!" Came a soft whimper. Instantly, James was knocked out of his reverie and he made his way to Lily. The vicious glint in his hazel eyes faded away and was replaced with concern – but evidently Lily did not see it. Because when he took a step towards her, she promptly drew away, fear eminent in her own bright green ones.

"Lily," James spoke cautiously, slowly lifting his arm to reach out for her. Unfortunately, his wand was still in his hand, and Lily eyed it with fright and continued to scramble away.

"Get away from me you … you monster!" She'd screamed the last word loudly and with conviction. James' eyes flashed with anger. Did Lily just call _him _the monster? He had just saved her – both her pride and life. How dare she look at him as though he were about to harm her?

"Lily," James repeated, trying to keep his voice steady. "Those Death Eaters were about to kill you. They'd already tortured you god damn it! What did you expect me to do? Pull up a chair and laugh?"

"I know what they did to me James," she snapped. "That doesn't mean you become a murderer! You killed a man, and another is dying in front of our fucking eyes! This isn't the person I knew. I thought you were kind, and thoughtful and a fucking good man!" Lily was breathing heavily now, the strength she'd mustered to scream was taking a toll on her. "Clearly I was wrong. You James Potter, are _just as bad as any Death Eater."_ She whispered the last sentence, but James heard it all too clearly. It rooted him to the spot, and his eyes widened behind his glasses.

His throat went dry as he looked around the room. The man he'd literally cut open was now dead, but the blood was still oozing out and staining the carpet. The other man was lying across from him, unmoving. James shut his eyes tightly. _Oh_. He heard Lily shakily get to her feet. She scoffed angrily as she stumbled past, and James made no move stop her, or to apologise. He'd realised what he'd done, how terrible his deeds really were. He felt sick with disgust, but it was because he didn't regret it. Not one bit; even though he should. He knew that if another pair of Death Eaters came in right now and even touched a hair on Lily's head, he'd repeat his actions without hesitation.

James slowly made his way out of Lily's room, not knowing what to do – how to make things right again. He and Lily had finally started to get along. It had taken him months to convince her that he was responsible and mature, and now she thought of him as the son of Satan. As he moved out the door, James spotted the Death Eater he had stunned. He stood in front of the masked man, wondering what he should do with him. However, following a small twitch, James noticed with horror that the man was waking up. He instinctively pulled out his wand again, but Lily's voice, whispering that sentence stopped him. James looked up, desperately trying to find Lily, but she was already down the other end of the hall, probably going to clean herself up of the blood.

James heard the water run and internally groaned. Now what? Deciding that stunning the man again was probably the best thing to do, he looked back down. The five seconds James had allowed the man was enough for him to get up quickly and pull his wand out. Before James had any time to react, he felt his throat constrict painfully. Instinctively, his hand flew to his neck, trying to remove the feeling of being choked. In the brief moment, the lack of oxygen took effect. The Death Eater was holding him up by his throat now, and as he tried to use his wand, he felt the feeling leave his lower part of his body – effectively dropping his wand onto the floor. His last resort was to somehow make enough noise for Lily to hear, but as much as tried, his fingers or legs wouldn't move. James could feel his heart thumping loudly, but also heard it slowly failing. This was it, he thought. With one last whimper, James' eyes fell, and he knew no more.

Walking away from James was surprisingly easy. Lily's anger, disappointment and also fear drove her to push out any good thoughts she had of him. She was grateful that he had come, he did save her life – that much Lily accepted. But if a line was ever drawn between the good and bad, James was dangerously close to crossing it. Shutting the bathroom door with more force than required Lily washed her face. It did no good though, because her arms now felt even dirtier. She had droplets of blood all over her clothes, and a deep cut on her forearm, which was made up of half an 'M'. Deciding to just have a shower, Lily turned the tap on and started removing all the stained clothing. However, just as she was about to step in, Lily heard a loud thud down the hall.

Startled, she quickly turned the water off, only to hear a short deep laugh – a laugh that sounded nothing like James'. _Fuck_. Grabbing the towel of the rails and quickly wrapping it around her, she picked up her wand and ran out the door.

"Get away from him!" Lily shouted in panic. James was lying on the ground motionless, and a large Death Eater was looming over him. The man looked up and snarled. He pointed his wand at Lily, ready to throw a deadly curse, but before he had a chance to even think of one, Lily had put up her shield. Her pride and joy, as well as her personal gift, was the strength of her shields.

She didn't know exactly how strong they were, because so far all the mediocre curses sent at her were easily blocked by it. However, as a bright green jet of light came speeding at her, she was immensely relieved that it completely bounced back and hit the offender square in the chest.

With an air of almost grace, the Death Eater fell back – dead. Lily wasted no time in a brief celebration. No matter how angry she was with James, she wasn't about to let him die. Dropping down by his side, she leaned in, desperately listening for a heartbeat. It was hard to make anything out, because the sound of her own pounding veins were quite overbearing. After a few torturous minutes, Lily head a faint _thud_ that was off beat to hers. He was alive. She wasn't sure how effective CPR could be, but at this point, Lily was ready to try anything. Making sure he was lying straight and prostate, Lily took a deep breath, opened his mouth and blew in. She then used her palms to steadily press James chest, prompting the heart to deliver the new supply of oxygen.

After repeating the procedure, Lily brought out her wand and tried some healing spells – all to no avail. Now shaking with terror and tears streaming down her face, Lily went back to the CPR. Her father was a well renowned doctor, and he had never failed to implement the importance of a good bout of oxygen in the lungs. It had taken nearly 20 minutes, but Lily didn't give up – routinely blowing air into James' mouth, and pumping his heart through rhythmic thumps. She was about to go in for another round, when she heard a small wheeze from James. She froze – not allowing herself to build up too much hope in case she had imagined the sound. But when he slowly opened his eyes, Lily felt a weight lift off her. Her heart felt lighter and she let out a joyous cry.

"Am I in heaven?" James weakly questioned, his voice almost too intangible.

"Don't be silly, James. You're alive," Lily responded, her voice almost as quiet. She brought her hands up to his face – one cupping it while the other brushing away strands of black hair.

"You're lying. Why else would Lily Evans be in a towel about to kiss me?"

"Merlin's pants, I'm naked!" Lily squeaked, jumping back and being sure to secure her towel which was lying loose under her armpits. Face going bright red, she unsteadily stood up and offered a shaking hand to James. Perhaps afraid to pull Lily back to the ground (as she was still looking rather weak), he just raised his eyebrows and slowly sat up on his own, leaning on the wall behind him. Wiping a bead of sweat of his temple James looked up, surveying the sight of Lily clad in nothing but a too-small yellow coloured towel. Feeling his gaze like laser eyes burning through her skin, Lily squirmed uncomfortably, tightening her hold on the fluffy article. Her response didn't go unnoticed by James who smirked and winked cheekily.

Lily flushed again, but this time with anger. He was looking at her like she was some sort of delicacy at a fancy restaurant he couldn't afford – and it only made her want to slap him as hard as possible. Her irritation triggered the events that had occurred less than an hour ago, and the snarl was back. Looking at James with such a level of contempt confused him for a moment, but then the previous hour also dawned to him and his smirk turned sheepish. Lily's frown did not waver though, and James sighed with resignation. Looking straight into Lily's green eyes, that were now darkened and holding a strong glare, he decided he might as well try to make her understand.

"Lily – no wait, before you leave again, hear me out, yeah? Please?" James waited for confirmation, but all he got was a deeper frown. Accepting it, James continued. "Look I freaked out, okay? I lost my head and I'm sorry for not thinking about how you might feel. When I saw you getting tortured like that – and the death eaters about to write, no _carve_ that … that word, it drove me insane Lily. I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt. I know you don't need protecting – you're a brilliant witch regardless of what the prejudice idiots think – but you needed help before. I should've just stunned both of them or something – I know – but I didn't want to give them the luxury of life when all they do is ruin it for everyone else. I'm so sorry for upsetting you Lily."

Lily's expression did not soften, much to James' disappointment and fear.

"So you aren't sorry for what you did to those men?" Lily asked slowly. James' heart sank. He was hoping that she didn't pick it up, but of course, Lily was too smart for her own good. Deciding to just be honest – to hell with consequences, James shook his head.

"No. I'm not. They deserved everything they got." He stated firmly. To his immense surprise however, the corners of Lily's mouth twitched and curled up slightly. She nodded almost to herself and then smiled shyly.

"I never did thank you, you know" She said. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead."

James beamed. "Well, seeing as how you saved my own arse just now, I think we're even." To which she softly chuckled.

"Not that I'm complaining, because I'm definitely not – but how come you've forgiven me this easily? You seemed pretty pissed earlier." James queried. Lily looked down, fiddling with her hands. James could swear her skin looked pinker.

"When … when I saw you on the ground – about to die, I realised what you meant. I really do care for you James, I know it's hard to believe – I haven't exactly been your biggest fan in the past. And also… um … well, the Death Eater who attacked you kind of … died." Lily finished very quietly, looking anywhere but James. James simply raised his eyebrows, a small smirk developing on his pink lips. Did Lily really just say those things? They had been getting along reasonably well, what with head duties and all – but now she had basically admitted to feeling something more towards him, something James himself could relate to.

"You killed a Death Eater for me?"

"Technically his curse reflected off of my shield, but yeah, I suppose I did. Besides, I wasn't about to let you die! What else could I have done?"

"Relax Lils, no need to get so defensive. I don't actually care about a Death Eater's life – I know, shocking right? I'm just surprised you did it for me," James smiled.

"Like I said – you mean a lot to me. I just feel so terrible – I mean I know that they are terrible people, the Death Eaters – but they're still people. With families and hopes for the future. And now there's nothing, because we took it away from them," Lily's voice had begun to shake, and James could tell that she was on the brink of crying. He shook his head internally. Only Lily was able to feel compassion for a killer – only she could cry for them even when they'd destroyed what she loved.

"Lily they were killers. They murdered your parents. They go around ruining other people's families and _their_ hopes - for a living. By eliminating the murderers, we've prevented another fifty innocent deaths. That's worth something. We need to make sacrifices if we want to win this war." James said gently.

"I just don't want to lose ourselves in the middle of all this. If we start killing all the Death Eaters, we're just as bad as they are. They kill people who they think don't deserve life … well, aren't we doing the same? Doesn't that make us evil too? I don't want this war to turn into some sort of battle for power. I only want to protect those whom I love, not kill the ones I hate," Lily replied.

"Lines will have to be blurred, Lils. We won't be able to fight without an offense."

"Just promise me you'll stay as the James I know. Promise me you won't kill if you help it." Lily pleaded softly, inching forward. James instinctively leaning toward her, cupping her face softly with his left hand.

"I'd do anything for you Lily," James said, his voice almost inaudible. Their faces were so close now, Lily could practically see the faint smudges on James' glasses. With a sudden burst of movement, before he could back out, James swiftly captured Lily's lips with his own. She let out a small 'Oh' of surprise before melting into the kiss. She felt the heat rise up to her cheeks, his chapped lips felt amazing against her own well moisturised ones. Lily could tell that he was well experienced in the activity. His tongue explored her mouth softy, but it only made it feel more sensual. James was being gentle and tender, going slowly for Lily, and she was grateful. With her parents gone, and Petunia deserting her, Lily was glad to be able to feel free again – if only momentarily. She wouldn't be able to handle anything more – not yet anyway. He didn't want to pressure her into anything. In her fragile state, there was a high probability of her saying 'yes' and then regretting it later.

James had dreamt and wished of this moment for the past four years, and he was no way in hell about to make a mess of it. Lily didn't realise how well James knew her, and it was because of his respect and love that he pulled away. His lips already missed the soft skin, and the fiery feeling running through his veins was ebbing away.

"You should get back in that shower. I might have superhuman self-control, but the towel you're wearing is about to break it," He chuckled, lightly kissing her forehead. Lily blushed even more and giggled softly.

"Where does this leave us then?" She asked.

James smiled widely. "Together," he replied simply, winking.

* * *

* The trees are Cherry Blossoms. As I understand, they bloom in Winter months.


End file.
